Steve Reyes is a port orphan turned sailor, self-taught anatomist and lodge initiate who supervises tortures by contract, and the founder of a line: in Antiterra people still speak of “the grandson of Steve Reyes”. He presents himself as “a true poet, Steve Reyes, sailor and student of life”.
| Type | Character |
| Spanish entry | Steve Reyes |
Description
Left as a child in a port bar, he was raised by “the cleaning staff” and never schooled. He carries a leather satchel “also with books and papers”, “some scrolls on the belt” and “a small crossbow hanging”. He controls his descent from heights: he “comes down as if rising over the air and sets himself on the floor”.
Roles
- Initiate: holds rank in a lodge that sends him orders by letter.
- Anatomist: hired to supervise torture and certify its precision, not to execute.
- Survivor: escaped dungeons where “they almost quartered me”.
- Guardian: also named as one.
History
A letter from the order sent him to Paris as adviser for a moderately important execution, for “a month, 60 days”. He lodged with Sarpaoli (also written “San Paoli”), leaving a scorpion there, and was invited to poker on his first day.
His absence was felt (“Is Steve Reyes here?”), and he “came back with a castle”. A sentence follows him: «Vas a ser un rey de las cenizas, Steve» (“You’re going to be a king of ashes, Steve”); who said it, and whether as prophecy, threat or mockery, is not recorded.
His line reaches at least a grandson, mentioned as a possible witness to a crime.
Conflicting accounts
- An Alfonso Reyes, son of Castán Espelle, versed in metamagic and later the art of enlarging, may be Steve under another name, a relative or a namesake.
- Some accounts describe him from outside as a contracted torture assessor; others give him a first-person voice as poet and sailor: one mixed role or two overlapping identities.
Open questions
- His face, age, clothing, the port’s name and his parents are not recorded.
- The lodge’s name, ranks and seat, and the dungeons’ location and his escape, are unknown.
- What “coming back with” a castle means (title, deed, building), and where it stands, is unclear.
- The source of his controlled descent, whether he can fly, and the scorpion’s purpose are unknown.